STRAYCAT’S DOGGONE BLOG

Now, let me bring you up to date on my most recent goings about.

Saturday, the 27th: Not much going on today. DL&D were out gallivanting all over Vegas. Shopping and such. That doesn’t interest me so I just kicked back in the truck with the MMM and geeked. I secured a room for the night at the WWW so I can have a shower in the morning before I leave. I invited DL&D over for showers in the AM as well. They are still “dry camping” at the Orleans, so I’m sure that the invitation is appreciated. In the late afternoon, we arranged to meet for dinner at the Haufbrauhaus. The dinner was excellent as usual. This is a “must visit” whenever we get together in Vegas. After dinner, they had more gallivanting, so I went back to the WWW for more relaxation and geeking. 

Sunday, the 28th: I invited them over to the WWW for breakfast (I had another coupon). After breakfast, they went to my room for their showers, and I just relaxed in the Casino. When they were finished with their ‘toilette’, I checked out of the room, and bade them adieu. I drove without incident to Salt Lake City. Once I entered Utah, the weather became much colder, but still clear. I ‘camped’ at my first customer for the night.

Monday, the 29th: The day started out well. I made the first delivery on time at 0500. After I finished there, I had 3 hours to kill before my next stop, so I went to the Sapp Brothers truck stop for breakfast. After breakfast, I drove to my second stop in Sandy. I was an hour early, but they took me early. Next, I drove to my 3rd stop in West Valley. They also took me early. I was well ahead of schedule by this time, but all that soon changed. While I was making the right turn into my 4th stop in again in Salt Lake City, a car tried to pass me on the right and struck my truck. I had to swing wide using both lanes to make the turn into their narrow driveway. Evidently, the driver thought I was changing lanes and tried to pass me on the right (imbecile). I couldn’t find any damage to my truck, so I figured the he must have struck my steer tire. The left front fender of his car was damaged, so I had to fill out an Accident Report. All this took over an hour. After all that was done, I made the delivery, then drove to our terminal for fuel. While I was there, I checked for any Permits that I need for after the New Year. I probably won’t be near a terminal. When I was finished, I drove to Mountain Home, ID (about 40 miles from Boise) where I ran out of hours for the day (14 hour rule). I could have made it all the way to my first stop in Boise were it not for all the rigmarole in SLC.

Tuesday, the 30th: I think I found the damage done to my truck in yesterdays accident. As I was doing my ‘walk around’ inspection, I noticed that my right steer axle hub was leaking. I checked it out and determined that it was safe to drive to my first customer in Boise, and did so. After I was finished there, I re-checked the hub and determined it was safe to proceed to my final stop in Meridian. Meridian was only 5 miles from my stop in Boise. When I finished there, I drove to the TA truck stop in Boise and had the repairs done there. I had a PrePlan which picked up in Boise and delivers in Great Falls, MT. It took about 3 hours to get my truck into the shop and replace the hub. I had a ‘to go’ lunch at the Taco Bell inside the truck stop. I know it sounds yucky, but my only other choice was a Subway. Since I was waiting for a space in the shop, I didn’t want to obligate myself to a ’sit down’ meal in their main restaurant. After the shop was finished, I drove to the shipper and did the drop/hook pick up. After I caught up my paperwork, I drove to Rocker (Butte), MT. Again, I wanted to make it all the way to Great Falls, but was thwarted by circumstance. 

New Years Eve: One word describes this work day, exasperating. I left Rocker at 0745, the earliest I could legally drive. Rocker, under ‘normal’ conditions is a 2½ hour drive (about 150 miles). I allowed extra time because of a predicted snow storm, and the possibility of bad road conditions. I ran into neither, and a made the trip in 2¾ hours arriving 1½ an hours early to my first stop. This was a real fiasco. First, I had to spot my trailer in their dock. Next, I had to move one of their (Shopko) trailer from their only other dock door. After that, I had to spot an empty Swift trailer back into the dock from which I had just removed their trailer, so the Receiver could cross-load the 2 pallets to from my original trailer to the new trailer. (Did I mention that their dock area was a solid sheet of ice. It was more like playing shuffleboard, except trying to NOT hit anything, than any test of driving skills). It took about an hour to accomplish all this. My next (last) stop was at the local newspaper. It wasn’t any better. Their lot too, was a solid sheet of ice. It was further complicated by the fact that their lot was not made for large vehicles such as the one I drive. I made it into their dock without too much hassle, and the Receiver removed the 2 pallets in no time. The problem was that I had to wait ¾ hour for some of the employees to go to lunch before I could manipulate my truck out of their lot. Once the lot cleared, it still took an additional ¼ hour to ‘escape’. After that “fun”, I drove to the Pilot truck stop. I scanned my Bills, Logs, and Trip Sheet there, then drove across the street to the Flying J truck stop to wait for my next load. As it turned out, my work day was at an end. About 1430, I went to dinner. I had their buffet. It was good, and had a lot of different selections. Among them was what they called Brunswick Pie. It is basically Beef Pot Pie, except made in a cake pan rather than an individual sized pie pan. After I finished breakfast/lunch/dinner, I went back to my truck and relaxed and geeked. The expected storm arrived with a vengeance about 1530. There was little snow, but high winds (30+ mph). It lasted about 6 hours. I was happy to be parked. Being the ‘party animal’ that I am, a little after 2200, I wished the MMM “Happy New Year”, gave them some treats, and went to bed.

New Years Day: I awoke a little before 0800.I still have no PrePlan, nor do I expect one today. If I do receive one, it won’t pick up until tomorrow. I went inside to eat about 1300. I had their New Years buffet. I think that they will be serving breakfast all day. At least that is what I had, and when I left at 1430, it was still breakfast. Part two of the storm arrived while I was eating. This time it was just a little snow. If it were rain, it would be drizzle. Again it lasted only about 6 hours, with little or no accumulation. I called it a day a little after 2200 once again.